Rare, Early Seventies Walt Smith Melobar Ten-String 'Rosac Student Model' Guitar
Under the Bed for Over Forty-Five Years…

1971 Melobar Electric Model 230

This exceptionally rare, early seventies Walt Smith Melobar Ten-String 'Rosac Student' Electric Model 230 Guitar weighs just 8.10 lbs. Somewhere between 300 and 500 of these were produced in the early seventies. Solid alder body. One-piece rock-maple neck-through-bridge assembly attached to body at an angle of 45 degrees. The width of the neck at the nut is  just under 2 5/8 inches gently rising to 3 1/2 inches at the 21st marker and the scale length is 22.50 inches. Specifically shaped 'slotted' "MeloBar" headstock with small oval metal plate faced in red and lettered in gold and white secured by two pins with "Smith/Melobar/Guitar". Ten individual rear-facing tuners (five on each side) with rectangular white plastic buttons with rounded edges. The serial number "MS 0329" is stamped in blind on the aluminum nut. Aluminium fretboard faced in black with aluminum nut and 21 fret markers and 'pac-man' style markings. Two Paul Barth single coil pickups with metal surrounds and outputs of 6.67k and 6.71k. Small triangular-shaped, tortoiseshell over white & black plastic pickguard secured by three pins. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way pickup selector switch and jack-input, all on right-angled tortoiseshell over white & black plastic panel secured by eight screws. Original 'witch-hat' black plastic control knobs with ribbed sides and metal tops, numbered from 0 to 9. Combined 'engraved' aluminum 10-string bridge/tailpiece secured by six screws. This super rare and very unusual 'Under-the-Bed for over forty-five years' instrument is in near mint (9.25++) condition. Complete with the two original Melobar 'Finger-Protector' "Speedbars", an original "Ring" bar, an original guitar cord, an original Mosrite white leather guitar strap, several instructional and promotional sheets and a "Mel-O-Bar Guitar Song Book Two" [1968]. Housed in its original 'Victoria Luggage' three-latch rectangular black hardshell case with red plush lining and two case keys in the original manilla envelope (9.25).

The Melobar was designed to be a Lap Steel that could be played standing up with a strap. All Melobar guitars are quite rare but this one is especially unusual because of it's condition and the fact that all of the original 'paperwork' is present.

We contacted Ted Smith (Walt Smith's son) aka Melobar Ted. After examini all the photographs that we sent him he replied "You're getting some rare ones David that is an original student model rozac which is rare to not have been modified by staggering the pickups and cutting the switch off, pretty cool wish it was in a museum with all that added original instructions and bars… The Rosac model was made famous by Rusty Young of Poco who pictured it in his Steel Guitar Instruction book calling it the "Bear", a name still used by many old Melobar players. Nearly all the Rosac models (believed to be 3 to 5 hundred in the run) were later converted by cutting the swithcraft threeway switch off and wiring the two pickups together. This looks to be one of the very first produced in that it was not modified and has the original Victoria Luggage case as used by Fender during the same era only slightly fatter to allow the 45 degree angle neck. Original instruction booklets and the Chase bar is all original to the 1970 student model release."

"The really first production Melobars were manufactured for Walt Smith at the Mosrite factory in Bakersfield California in 1967. The identifying factors are: Mosrite body, Mosrite labeled pickups, Chrome control panel, Kluson Keys, a angle on the top of the head so the treble side is longer than the bass side of the head. Pick guards, fret boards were usually a pac man look. Odd 23" scale from nut to bridge. Various bridges were installed, nut's often had a serial number on the key side of the angle. The string spacing was very tight trying to squeeze in 9-strings or 10 on a 6-string pickup. The history is that Rye Cooder said the string spacing was too tight and Walt mothballed the entire lot of 300 plus guitars. We now know that the Rolling Stones Brian Jones somehow got a hold of one and loaned it to Jimmy Page just before he died. This was also the guitar model Jefferson Airplane used on the Crown of Creation Album. A few guitars were stolen out of a vehicle at the LA airport which have never been tracked down. After Walt Smiths death in 1991 his son Ted Smith dug into the back dusty pile of old Mosrites that had not seen the light of day since 1967. A article in Guitar Player magazine called Melobars Basement Genius highlighted these guitars and nearly all of them were sold to collectors." (Melobar Ted)